


Support

by hybridempress



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hospitalization, Injury, Welcome to the Madness (Yuri!!! on Ice)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 05:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11269203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybridempress/pseuds/hybridempress
Summary: The figure skating competition season has started again, and Yuri has made the decision to reuse his exhibition program from last year's Grand Prix final as his short program in the new season. He's sure that he knows the routine perfectly and is determined not to let any of his supporters down during his performance, but sometimes, circumstances slip far beyond one's control.





	Support

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mostladylikeladythateverladied](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostladylikeladythateverladied/gifts).



> Happy happy birthday Lady <3 <3 <3 I've got some painful Yuri P custom made just for you~ With some slight background otayuri just to cater to you even more 
> 
> This is my first time writing YOI fanfic and I don't typically write for anything other than Bungo Stray Dogs but I'm willing to branch out for Lady LMFAO
> 
> That being said I really hope that I got characterizations right, I've only ever read Lady's YOI fanfic so I'm not even all that familiar with the fandom itself even though I absolutely adored the anime. It was a lot of fun to write though and I'm always a slut for suffering, I was really excited when Lady told me what she wanted me to write bc it was totally right up my alley and a perfect way to make my debut as a writer in this fandom, and perhaps a one hit wonder unless i get some commissions or requests for this fandom. 
> 
> Anyways, happy birthday again, Lady, I love you a lot and I hope you have a very special day. Thank you for being a part of my life and inspiring me so much every day, you're amazing and wonderful and deserve nothing but the best <3 <3 <3

     _“Ladies and gentlemen, now presenting his short program piece titled ‘Welcome to the Madness,’ please welcome Russia’s Yuri Plisetsky!”_

 

The spotlight clicked on and shone down on Yuri. In the second before the music started, the only thing louder than the screams of the audience was the blood roaring in his ears, making it hard for him to even hear the support that he was being given. The voices were just a dull hum in the background compared to his rapidly beating heart.

 

    It had been a tough decision to decide to use “Welcome to the Madness” as his short program for the next season. His exhibition performance after the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona had been a hot topic for several weeks, creating even more of a buzz than Yuuri Katsuki’s exhibition piece had. The reviews were not all pleasant.

 

    “Welcome to the Madness” had destroyed Yuri’s reputation as the beloved “Russian Fairy,” replacing his nickname with the “Russian Punk” as he was known outside of the rink. Fans and critics alike found a certain suggestive and sexual aspect of the choreography, especially within Otabek Altin’s role, that stirred up a lot of controversy online. Yuri’s fan base remained largely supportive, but that didn’t make it any easier for the sixteen-year-old to deal with the people who harshly judged him for what he had “become.”

 

    But this was the kind of skating that he wanted to do. This was the kind of story that he wanted to tell. It wasn’t as though he could sweep his exhibition under the rug and pretend like it never happened. Even if he could, he wouldn’t have wanted to, and none of the people who were helping him make this decision would have wanted him to, either.

 

    Beka supported him. His grandfather supported him. Victor supported him. Yakov supported him. Lilia supported him. That Katsudon and all of his piggy family supported him. Yuuko supported him. Pichit supported him. Even that cocky bastard Jean-Jacques Leroy and his fiancée had sent him good messages after seeing his performance. And Yuri would consider it a personal failure of the highest degree to let any of them down.

 

    This was going to be the first performance in a very, _very_ long season.

 

    The choreography had to be changed slightly. Beka no longer had a role in the show; Yuri had to do it all himself. But that was fine. He had practiced the changes at least a thousand times, and even if Beka couldn’t be in the rink with him, he knew that the older boy was watching him intently from behind the glass. So Yuri would be okay. He could do this. And he would make a statement doing it.

 

    The music started, and like a switch had been flipped in his head, Yuri began to move automatically to the beat. The program was just that; a program, installed in his brain and his body through weeks of practicing every day until his legs were numb. Falling on his ass, spraining his ankles, pushing himself to his limits and eliminating every error he could possibly make. Now, he moved to this music as easily as if he were simply walking down the streets of his grandfather’s neighborhood.

 

    Until he slipped.

 

    It was a triple toe loop, of all things, that he had fucked up. It was the jump that he had added into the program after taking off his own gloves in Otabek’s absence. He felt it as soon as his foot hit the ground, that he hadn’t landed properly.

 

    He landed on his heel instead of his toe. Instead of falling gracefully, he panicked and tried to bring his foot off the ground. He slid forward a few inches before his foot finally flew out from underneath him. He saw a leg in the air before he fell, landing on his back and hitting the back of his head on the ice. He heard a crack and felt a surge of pain before the world around him went dark.

 

    A collective gasp was elicited from what seemed like every single mouth in the arena before they all went deadly silent. The spotlight stayed on Yuri’s still form and the music continued for several seconds as the judges and spectators watched for any sign of movement, but there was none. It quickly became apparent that Yuri was not going to get up to finish his program.

 

     _“Yuri!”_

 

Otabek’s voice echoed throughout the arena despite the loud music that was still playing. He took off at a run from his spot behind the glass, to the entrance of the rink. He sprinted his way across the ice, eventually dropping to his knees and sliding the rest of the way towards Yuri as the lights came up and the music stopped. Victor, Yuuri, and Yakov were not far behind.

 

    “Hey, Yura,” Otabek murmured as he pulled Yuri into his lap. His eyes widened when he noticed blood on the ice where Yuri’s head had been, and blood matted in his hair.

 

    “Yura… Come on…” Otabek urged, lightly striking Yuri’s cheek with his palm twice, but Yuri remained unresponsive.

 

    Yuuri and Viktor slid up on either side of Otabek, panic-stricken, while Yakov stood behind them, trying to keep his feet planted firmly on the ice.

 

    “Oh, God, there’s blood,” was the first thing that came out of Yuuri’s mouth. His eyes bulged and he covered his mouth with his hand, then averted his gaze so that he didn’t have to see it.

 

    “Where the hell is the nurse!?” Viktor demanded angrily, glaring as he turned his head back to look behind him. “Someone call an ambulance! _Now!_ ”

 

    A few minutes later, the three paramedics that were already onsite rushed across the ice and ushered Yakov, Viktor and Yuuri away from Yuri. Otabek was harder to move. Yuuri and Yakov had to hold him back as the paramedics took Yuri from him and brought him off the ice.

 

    It was ten more minutes before the ambulance arrived. Yuuri and Viktor were the only ones who were allowed to ride with Yuri in the ambulance to get to the hospital. Otabek was meant to perform right after Yuri. He ditched the arena in favor of riding his motorbike to the hospital. Yakov and Lilia took a cab.

 

    Yuri was rushed to the ER as soon as the ambulance arrived at the hospital. Viktor and Yuuri were directed to a receptionist to fill out paperwork and then told to wait in a waiting room for a doctor to come back with any news. Not long after Viktor and Yuuri had settled in, Yakov and Lilia arrived at the hospital and were guided to where Viktor and Yuuri were waiting. Otabek came a little later and stood in the corner of the room that was closest to where the doctor would emerge from.

 

    It was an hour and a half before a doctor finally came out with some news.

 

    “Who is here with Yuri Plisetsky?”

 

    Otabek and Yuuri rushed to the doctor and crowded him. Viktor followed them but made sure to give the doctor some space. Yakov and Lilia stayed seated, but listened intently to what the doctor had to say.

 

    “Mister Plisetsky suffered somewhat serious head trauma. There is an open linear skull fracture at the back of his head. So far, it appears to be something that will heal on its own now that we’ve closed up the skin in the area, but only time will be able to tell if more treatment needs to be done. For now… he remains unresponsive.”

 

    “U-unresponsive…?” Yuuri repeated, his tone and the look in his eyes expressing a need for clarification.

 

    “As of now, he is still unconscious and has shown no reaction to any stimuli that we’ve given him. We don’t know when he will wake up. It could take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. All we can really do is wait.”

 

    It wasn’t as though the doctor had said that Yuri would die, or even that his injuries were gravely serious, but the news proved to be too much for Yuuri’s anxiety. Short and heavy breaths accompanied tear-filled eyes, weak knees, and shaking arms. Recognizing the signs of an oncoming panic attack, Viktor took a gentle hold of Yuuri’s arm and pulled him back, then spun him around and held him close to his own chest. He began to run his fingers through Yuuri’s hair in an attempt to soothe him, while making eye contact with the doctor.

 

    “He _will_ be okay, won’t he?”

 

    It was the question that was on everyone’s mind, but only Viktor had courage enough to voice it.

 

    “He should be,” the doctor replied. “There aren’t any immediate signs of brain damage or any reason why the fracture shouldn’t heal. But we can’t make any promises right away. Like I said, all we can do now is wait.”

 

    Viktor pursed his lips into a thin line. “You’ll keep us updated if his condition changes at all, yes?”

 

    The doctor nodded quickly. “Of course, sir.”

 

    “Thank you,” Viktor told him.

 

    The doctor nodded again. “Are there any other questions that any of you have?” he asked, looking in turn at each of the visitors who had come for Yuri.

 

    No one spoke.

 

    The doctor nodded once more. “The hospital will call you if there are any changes in his condition, Mister Nikiforov,” he said.

 

    “Thank you,” Viktor repeated.

 

    With that, the doctor turned and left the waiting room, leaving behind the people that Yuri called family to wonder if and when they would get to see him awake again.

 

\---

 

    A day passed and there was no change in Yuri’s condition. The doctor had declared him comatose, much to the ever-growing anxiety of everyone who was being updated, but especially Yuuri and Otabek. Yuuri was so anxious that he could barely function, and Otabek had cut off all contact with everyone but Viktor, choosing instead to keep himself locked in his hotel room while he prayed for any form of good news to turn up.

 

    The competition had resumed after the initial hysteria had died down, despite Yuri’s fans spamming every social media tag related to the event to ask if Yuri was going to be okay. Otabek had forfeited his place in the competition, which came as no surprise to anyone. Once again, Yuri’s performance was making headlines all over the globe, but no one was anything but worried about the young skater.

 

    After three days, Viktor paid for Yuri’s grandfather to be flown out to them and paid for a new hotel room, as well. Nikolai, Yuuri, and Viktor visited Yuri in the hospital every day. Otabek joined them sometimes, but always ended up leaving quickly.

 

    Despite the situation, trips to Yuri’s hospital room were far from dismal. The room had quickly been filled with balloons, flowers, cards, and various other gifts that had been brought or sent to the hospital by fans or by fellow skaters from all over the world who couldn’t come to see Yuri themselves. There were so many gifts that Viktor eventually had to give the hospital the location of the hotel they were staying at and his and Yuuri’s room number so that the gifts that couldn’t fit in the hospital room could be redirected to the hotel instead.

 

    Even Yuri’s mother, who had been even more distant than usual since seeing Yuri’s exhibition piece, asked for Nikolai to keep her updated on how Yuri was doing and sent money to him so that he could pick up a gift for the boy on her behalf.

 

    Ten days after Yuri had been hospitalized, Viktor received a call in the afternoon from one of the doctors who was taking care of Yuri.

 

    “Mister Plisetsky has woken up,” the doctor told him.

 

    Yuuri sobbed in pure joy at the news.

 

    Viktor, Yuuri, and Nikolai had already been preparing to visit Yuri when Viktor received the call, but after making a few quick calls to Otabek, Yakov, and Lilia, the other three quickly joined them in the hotel lobby so that they could all take a cab to the hospital together.

 

    The group had to wait a while before they were allowed to see Yuri. It was explained that the doctors were performing cognitive tests and an overall check up on his health and wellbeing. Once it was deemed that Yuri was fully responsive and doing well, the doctors let his friends in to see him.

 

    Nikolai and Yuuri ran to the bed as soon as they were in the room and wrapped Yuri up in a tight hug, though they were careful not to jostle him too much, or to touch the bandages at the back of his head. His eyes widened as he felt arms around him and he gasped very softly. He didn’t make an attempt to push either of them away, though. He buried his face into Nikolai’s shirt and pulled Yuuri closer to him.

 

    “How are you feeling, Yurochka?” Nikolai asked him in Russian.

 

    “We’ve all been so worried about you!” Yuuri told him in English, not feeling confident enough in his own ability to speak Russian with how bad his anxiety still was and knowing that Yuri far preferred English to Japanese. “I’m so glad you’re awake, I’ve felt sick ever since we all saw your accident…”

 

    “I’m okay,” Yuri assured them both in English, knowing that his grandfather could understand it. “Shaken up, but I’m fine…”

 

    Nikolai cupped both of Yuri’s cheeks with one hand and made Yuri look at him. “Don’t you ever scare us all like this again, Yurochka. Viktor flew me all the way out here from Khimki because we were all worried sick about you!” He pulled away from Yuri so that he could gesture around the room, at the people who had come to see him as well as to the gifts that had been left for him. “Look how many people you scared, Yurochka.” He looked back at Yuri again. “Please be careful for us, none of us want to have to be terrified like that again.”

 

    The intention of the words was good; lighthearted and teasing despite the seriousness behind them, Yuri knew, but he burst into tears in spite of the support he knew he had. More than anything, what his grandfather said made him remember how he had let everyone down. Not only had he completely wrecked his competition debut as the “Russian Punk,” but he’d fucked up enough to put himself into a coma for ten days and scare his family shitless. He’d failed, and he’d dragged everyone else down with him.

 

    “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he choked out, once again burying his face into his grandfather’s chest. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I wanted to make you all proud, I didn’t mean to let you down…!”

 

    “What?” Yuuri asked in confusion. “No, nono, Yurio, you didn’t let any of us down!” he assured.

 

    Viktor stepped forward, huffing in disbelief. “Yurio, you’ve nothing to apologize for. This isn’t your fault. Accidents happen. We worry about you because we care about _you,_ not about your performance.”

 

    “We’re still proud of you, Yurochka. How could we not be?” Nikolai said.

 

    Still, in spite of the support coming from all around him, Yuri still felt like he had failed, and he continued to cry over it.

 

    Yuuri felt a hand tap his shoulder firmly. He loosened his grip on Yuri just enough so that he could turn and see who was trying to get his attention. Otabek stood behind him, and when Yuuri looked at him, he cocked his head to the side in a silent request for Yuuri to step aside.

 

    Yuuri nodded at him, then let go of Yuri and backed away from the bed. Otabek nodded back in response, a silent “thank you.” Otabek sat on the bed and looked at Yuri seriously.

 

    “Hey. Yura.”

 

    With a sniffle, Yuri pulled his head out of his grandfather’s chest and looked at Otabek with a sad, guilty expression.

 

    Otabek reached out and lightly tapped Yuri’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Quit crying. There’s no reason for it.”

 

    Yuri rubbed his eyes, then shifted his gaze to his lap. “I heard you dropped out of the competition because of me. Is that true?”

 

    Otabek simply nodded.

 

    Yuri glared at the sheets that he was wrapped up in and clenched his fists. “Why would you throw away the competition like that!? Just because I fucked up doesn’t mean you should give anything up for me! You didn’t even try, you just left!”  
  
    Otabek grabbed one of Yuri’s wrists and held it firmly, staring seriously at him; a warning for him to stop talking. “You’re more important than some damn competition, Yuri. How could I have stayed there knowing you were in the hospital because you cracked your head on the ice? How selfish would it have been for me to stay when I didn’t know if you were okay? I haven’t been able to focus on anything but you since this happened.”

 

    Yuri didn’t move and said nothing after Otabek had finished.

 

    “Yura. Look at me,” Otabek commanded, pulling on Yuri’s wrist until Yuri lifted his eyes to meet Otabek’s. “This competition isn’t the end of the world. There will be another one for us both. But if I had to choose between not being there for you when you need it or not being able to skate again, I would pick you without hesitation. Do you understand me?”

 

    Yuri’s lip quivered for a moment before he reached forward to grab Otabek and pull him close. He latched onto the fabric of Otabek’s shirt and hid his face in Otabek’s chest, sniffling and whimpering. Otabek sat frozen with his hands raised for a moment before he lowered them around Yuri’s torso and hugged him tightly, tucking Yuri’s chin underneath his own chin.

 

    Yuri couldn’t remember a time in his life when he had ever been more grateful for his network of support.


End file.
